Night Fury's Venom

Part 27: Interest

"Just wait here for a moment."

Hiccup flopped to the ground, panting heavily. "Y-Yeah... no problem..."

"Slow breaths," I advised with a chuckle before walking toward the cave.

I cautiously sniffed the air, relieved to find that only Stormfly's scent permeated the area. I had worried that she didn't make it, or that another dragon had taken up residence here. I realized the reason for Stormfly's scent being so widespread. There were paw-prints everywhere just outside the cave opening. She was probably pacing out here for a while.

I peeked my head around the corner, noticing she looked sound asleep in the back of the cave. I could barely see her due to the moonlight not reaching that far. I rolled my eyes and walked in with a snort. "I know you're awake, Stormfly. You can drop the act."

She cracked an eye open. "How'd you know?"

"Your wing is twitching."

She sighed. "Crap." Then, her head perked up. "Is Hiccup here? Where is he?" I stared at her evenly. "Come on! I need to know!"

"What if I told you he decided to leave?" I warbled.

"Did he?" She asked hesitantly. I said nothing. "Oh, I had hoped..."

"Hoped for what?" I asked curiously, "you said yourself that you were only friends."

She dropped her head to the ground roughly. "I know I did, but he grew on me." She looked at me seriously. "No teasing, alright?"

"For now," I hummed agreeably.

She rolled her eyes. "Good enough, I guess," she mumbled, "he was kinda... cute? Every time he did something unusual, he always looked so embarrassed! Then he started trying to impress me, and that made me feel special. Sure, he looked skinny and small for a Dark One, but I didn't mind that. I didn't really want to say I liked him, but he grew on me a lot. Heh... I already miss him. Is that weird?"

"No," I hummed, deciding to test her further. "I mean, sorta. He was a Scaleless, after all."

"So?" Stormfly huffed. "He looked like a dragon to me. When we first met, he wasn't all about wanting me dead, so he didn't act like one either. That was good enough for me. Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Just curious, is all," I replied innocently, "did you want to continue your search?"

She seemed to struggle to come up with a reply to that. "I probably should..." I raised a brow. "Right, sorry. It's just hard to let this go, I guess," she said with a hint of sadness, "he felt like a good one."

"Good enough to be the big one?" I warbled with feigned surprise.

"Maybe?" She answered uncertainly, "I wouldn't have minded it. He wasn't all brawn and no brains like the average male..."

I chose to ignore that indirect insult, but that was all I needed to hear. I smiled. "What if I told you Hiccup didn't leave?"

Stormfly gave me a glare. "Toothless, I don't want to talk hypotheticals with you right now."

I smiled wider. "What if I told you I wasn't being hypothetical?"

Her eyes widened hopefully. "I swear to the Moon if you are messing with me right now, I am going to-"

"He's here," I hummed, then cut her off before she could speak. "Wait! There is one thing you must do first; otherwise, he will leave."

"Anything!" She replied instantly, making me wonder just how much she really wanted this.

"You must promise to leave him alone for a little while."

Her face fell. "What? Why?"

"Pay attention," I said sternly, "because this is serious." She nodded slowly. "Hiccup is having a bit of an identity crisis right now... Okay, a big identity crisis. He has no idea what to do about anything, and he might panic again if he's pressured into something. He is especially sensitive about anything to do with you."

"O-Oh..." She mumbled in disappointment. Then she asked nervously, "so, does he... you know?"

I smirked. "Don't take my word for granted, but yes, I think he does." She grinned. "However, you should not be doing anything about that until I say so. We will be staying here for a while, so Hiccup can figure out his situation. Once he does, then you can gently tell him how you really feel, and we can leave this place. Got it?"

"Definitely!" She chirped excitedly, reminding me of a hatchling.

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, or I will never bring him in. Do not stare at him like a stalker, do not try to sleep close to him, and don't do anything a new friend wouldn't do. For now, you are only friends. That's it. Not even best friends."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to calm down. "Okay, okay. I'm good."

I nodded and let out a short calling sound and waited for a moment. I sighed when I remembered Hiccup wasn't an ordinary dragon, so he wouldn't have a clue what that was. I stood, walked outside, and snatched a Nightflower conveniently growing just outside. I snorted in amusement when I saw that he was asleep where I left him. I pushed on his head to shake him awake. "Get up, lazy-bones! Eat this!"

He grumbled but did as I asked, gagging from the taste of the flower. He followed me sleepily as I led him slowly into the cave. I shot Stormfly a warning look when she saw him walk in behind me. Thankfully, she stayed calm. Mostly.

Hiccup wasted no time falling asleep against one of the cave walls, about halfway between the entrance and the deepest part. I smiled and laid down as well to rest. The flower would do its job. We had a long day of teaching tomorrow, after all.